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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Thank you, Angela, for inviting me to share with you and your readers.

Aspiring authors often have a fantasy view of writing novels. They are born with creativeness and gifted with a beautiful way of expressing their language. Words just seem to flow through their fingertips. They dream of writing bestselling books and seeing their stories made into movies, so they start with an idea, they mold it, form it, and create their babies. They spend months (sometimes years) spilling their hearts through their pens. Once they’ve finished, they breathe a sigh of relief. They feel elation. They’ve done it! They’ve created a masterpiece that a big publishing house will pay them big bucks to print. BUT have they actually finished?

A vast majority of readers and even non-readers seem to have the same fantasy idea of what life is like for an author. What they don’t understand is that after spending hours creating a character map (being careful in choosing appropriate names and descriptions), after hours of writing an overview, after hours writing a chapter outline with a brief summary of what takes place within each chapter, and after months and months of writing, rewriting, cutting scenes, changing scenes, embellishing the writing style, and proofreading for grammatical errors, they are actually nowhere near finished. Having completed all they have thus far is indeed a great accomplishment, yet there is so much more to being an author than actually writing a book.

Once an author has completed their manuscript, they must begin searching for an agent and/or publisher. This entails research and attending writers’ conferences to meet agents and editors. After creating a list of potential agents and publishers, the author must write personalized query letters to each of them and pitch their book. They must also write a synopsis of their work. Writing a great query and a good synopsis can be even more difficult than writing the story itself.

After an agent agrees to represent the author, the author waits while he/she tries to sell it to a publisher. Some small publishing houses will accept direct submissions from the author, so it is possible to bypass seeking an agent. Once a publisher decides to pick up an author’s work, the editing process begins AGAIN. I can only speak from here on out from a small press stance since I am not published by a big publishing house. The publishing company will have an editor to read the manuscript for content. At this point the editor will makes notes of any content that seems wrong, doesn’t make sense, timeline issues, believability, and so on. They will suggest adding, deleting, and rewriting anything they feel will improve the marketability of the story. After these changes are made, the author resubmits the manuscript, and the same editor will either suggest more changes or okay the manuscript.

Once all content revisions are made, the manuscript is sent to another editor for the purpose of line editing. This editor looks for grammatical issues within the story. The author then receives the manuscript back with all the corrections he/she needs to make, and then resubmits after executing proper changes. The editor does another read through, and if all is well, they are ready to take it to the galleys and create a cover. Then the author gets to see an example of the completed work, cover included. He or she breathes a sigh of relief feeling that he/she has finally done it! BUT it is not over yet. There is still more to being an author than writing a book, editing a book, and having a great cover!

Then comes the marketing, which can be just as time consuming as the writing process. There are multiple guest posts to write, multiple interviews to be scheduled, many questions to answer, book signings to attend, and speaking engagements to prepare for. Being published through a small press means the author has to do a large amount of the footwork. Big publishers will do more marketing for the author, but in today’s economy they do less than they used to do and expect their authors to do more than in the past. This phase lasts several months and can continue on even longer. So, as you can see, there is much more to being an author than simply writing a book.

Readers who love romance novels will be pleased to know that this week from March 25-31, the Kindle version of Wildflowers will be on sale for 99 cents!

About the Book:

Have you ever feared what may be hiding deep within you?

Darkness often skulks in the blood of unsuspecting victims, but Aster McGrath is acutely aware of the violence coursing through his veins. After all, he is the son of a murderer, and everyone in the town of Bayville, Mississippi says he will end up just like his father.

When Susan Blackman moves into town, Aster has already embraced his brutal nature, but her gentle spirit draws him in and slowly melts the icy exterior of his heart. Taming his savagery, she professes her love, but will the good within him be able to overcome the evil lurking deep inside? Or will the fiend break free of its fetters and seek blood?

Schledia Benefield is the author of Plain Jane, Pretty Boy, and Wildflowers. She attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College but chose to be a stay-at-home mom for many years. She devoted eight years of her life to working with youth as a youth minister and has been invited to speak in a rehab to hurting and wounded women, giving them hope for a better future. She was the Keynote Speaker for Division 14 of the Key Club International’s divisional rally.

Born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Schledia holds a sense of pride in her southern heritage. She presently lives in Big Point, Mississippi with her husband and four of her five children. On top of writing novels, she writes youth and children’s church curriculum, and she works as a substitute teacher at East Central Middle School. In her spare time, she reads, sews, and spends time with her family.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

I have many concerns about the education that my daughters will receive. I am nervous about public school for a variety of reasons. I'm not completely convinced private schools would be any better even if we could afford to send them. I don't feel capable of educating them on my own with homeschooling. There are many options but so far none of them feel like a perfect fit for our family. I'm thankful that my oldest still has another year of preschool after this one so I don't have to make a decision any time soon. I also need to remind myself that I'm not locked in to any one way of schooling. If we try public school and it isn't working for us I can do research into other options. I just want my girls to receive the best education that will prepare them for whatever they may face in the future.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I am currently editing IXEOS: Rebellion, book 2 in the IXEOS trilogy. For writers, I think editing is contrary to our nature – I don’t edit at all when I write, and that feeling of creating a new world is why it’s so fun. Editing… Well, editing is about tearing down that new world to a certain degree, and it can be painful!

I use the same process on all my books. I write the first draft with zero edits. After it’s finished, I go make a fairly quick read-through and fix all the obvious things, like bad typos and misspellings. At that point, I email the book to beta readers. I know, some people send them a late draft. But I don’t use my beta readers as line editors or proofreaders. I don’t want to spend a ton of time editing before they’ve read the book and made their comments.

What does that mean exactly? Well, let’s say I spend a lot of time editing a scene and have it perfect. When the beta readers respond with their comments, half of them hate that scene. Since my general rule of thumb is to pay attention when 2 or more beta readers make the same comments, that means I need to really consider the scene, and if it should even be in the book.

It’s possible that I’ll delete the scene. At best, it would obviously require a lot more editing. Because I’ve already spent a lot of time on it, there’s a mental challenge here, because it is human nature to defend something you’ve spent a lot of time on. Perhaps I wouldn’t be as objective as I need to be.

Now, I tend to write pretty clean first drafts, so this works for me. I specifically ask beta readers to not worry about grammar and typos (most can do that, some just absolutely can’t let those go!). After I get their feedback, then I really start digging into the work.

My first pass after getting the feedback is a detailed reading of the book, with the beta readers’ comments close at hand. As I’m reading, I’m looking for character continuity, dialog issues, lost story threads, and, of course, analyzing the feedback against what I’m reading. This is a pretty long process, as I’m looking at all the big picture things, as well as working on grammar, typos and word placement.

When this is done, I print off the book and do it again, making notes in the margins. I find this “on paper” edit very helpful, as I tend to skim as I get tired when reading on the computer, and no amount of mental flogging seems to stop it. Sometimes I use multi-colored pens, but usually I just use one color and use arrows, circles and notes to clarify the changes.

The next step is my least favorite: putting the on-paper edits into the document. During this time, I feel like my eyeballs are going to implode. It’s very easy to get tired, and I need more frequent breaks to stay sharp. While I’m doing this, I am not reading the manuscript. This is simply a hunt-and-change operation.

After this step, I’m in the home stretch. I read through again, this time really looking at word usage and placement, taking out unnecessary adverbs, and doing “finds” for my most overused words. (“Just” is my worst offender, and I tend to use “and” and “but” a lot, and not always correctly!) I also do a grammar scan on Scrivener and check out all the spelling and grammar suggestions.

I’m really close at this point! I move the document to Word on my pc and do another grammar/spelling check using Grammarly. (Grammarly doesn’t work within Word on a Mac, so I have to move it over, then move it back.) The final check is when I move the document back to Word on my Mac, when I once again do a grammar/spelling check using the Word tool. Amazingly, the three programs all skip problems, and all propose different solutions!

At this point, I run around my house announcing to my family that I’m done. My son always gives me a high five. My husband, who is usually busy with his own book, smiles, waves and keeps working. Since my announcement to my daughter is via text, since she’s in college, I usually get an all-caps response saying “YAY!!!!!!!” I congratulate myself for awhile… And then get to work on the next project.

About the Book:

The McClellands are enjoying a lazy summer vacation at the beach when they are lured from our world into Ixeos, an alternate Earth. Finding themselves lost in a maze of tunnels under Paris and surrounded by strangers, they discover that they have been brought to Ixeos for one purpose: to take the planet back from humanoid aliens who have claimed it. With the aid of the tunnels and a mysterious man named Landon, the teens travel the world seeking the key that will allow them to free Darian, the long-imprisoned rebel leader.

The aliens aren't the only problem on Ixeos -- the McClellands have to deal with brutal gangs, desperate junkies, and a world without power, where all the technology is owned by the aliens, and where most of the population has been killed or enslaved.

Born and raised in Rockledge, Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn't spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her science fiction stories.

Jennings attended the University of the South and the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of script doctoring, business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit to Uganda.

Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn't stopped since. She's written four novels and a screenplay in less than a year, with more ideas on the drawing board. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, also a writer, and two children, and travels extensively.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

The sound of her heels clicking on the pavement blended in with the beat of boots and the shuffle of tennis shoes. Individual steps were lost as the footsteps of strangers created a rhythm filling the air. When she had first arrived the noise bothered her. The constant sounds of cars and people at all hours of day and night made it hard to think. Now though it was simply background noise as she walked the short distance from her apartment to the office.

Arriving early, she settled in with her homemade coffee as she waited for the computer to boot up. Even as she went over her mental checklist of tasks she needed to complete that day, her mind was already thinking about the night ahead, wondering what her friends had planned as they joined her for a weekend in the city.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Yesterday in my BlogFlash2013 post about water, I asked you to consider donating just $20 to help build a well in a community needing clean, safe water. In the grand scheme of our lives $20 seems like so little to give to give hope to so many.

Yet there are a lot of different organizations out there asking for donations for so many different causes. There are health organizations, human rights organizations, political organizations, and religious organizations. The list goes on and on and it is enough to make your head spin as you try to decide which organization can do the most good with what you have to give. You have to decide what causes you support and how to best demonstrate your values through your giving. My friend +Jacqueline Wilson wrote an amazing post titled Cats, Comics, or Kids which talks about where people are putting their money even in this economy. I would urge you to visit her site and read it as it is truly eye-opening.

I know that I am rethinking some of my spending habits because of organizations such as Monkey Do Project and The Thirst Project. Seeing what other people don't have is making me realize some of the things that I can do without in order to help someone else. Monkey Do Project has many infographics detailing what $26 could give to a child in Appalachia. Could you spare $26 to help Pave the Path with Monkeys and give a child a backpack with school supplies and healthy snacks?

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Monday, March 25, 2013

The sound of children laughing in the street outside gusted through the patio doors, ruffling the gossamer curtains and bringing the soapy smell of flowers to her. The knock sounded again, and she pushed herself off the sofa and went to answer the door.

The Tall Stranger, looked worse than Angelica had remembered him looking upon their first meeting. With a gasp she took an involuntary step back into the room, which gained him entrance.

“Don’t worry,” he said. Listening to his voice gave her the same feeling that coming in contact with his wyrd for the first time did; she felt as though insects crawled over her. “I can’t use my wyrd against you for someone has stolen it from me.”

JOVE! she screamed down her link to her brother, but he must have been too far away from her because there was no response.

The first punch caught her by surprise and sent fire through her jaw. She stumbled back and almost fell into the divan. Quickly she regained her footing and took a defensive stance, which only made the Tall Stranger laugh at her.

“Don’t think this will be easy for you,” he told her matter-of-factly. “I am a skilled fighter.”

“So am I,” Angelica said and took a swing at him. The Tall Stranger easily ducked away from, kneeing her in the stomach as he sidestepped, effectively pushing her off balance and knocking the wind out of her.

An elbow to the back of the head sent her mind swimming, and her body crashing to the floor.

“I told you this would not be easy,” he chided. He straddled Angelica and, gripping her hair in his fist, pounded her head off the wooden floor twice. Blood flooded her mouth and drizzled out her nose even as darkness formed in splotches at the edge of her vision. A strange thought came to her then that told her she was losing consciousness.

The Tall Stranger lifted her from the floor and threw her face-first into the wall. Angelica stumbled, arms reeling as she tried to gain her footing again, but it was in vain. The darkness at the edge of her vision became more than splotches, and soon it was not only invading her vision, but her muscles as well. She stumbled into a table near the door. The knick knacks and unlit oil lamp smashed on the wooden floor and oil soaked into the Balageshian rug.

Blackness chased her into oblivion.

Moments later strong yet pliant arms lifted her and sat her on something soft, yielding, and when she forced her eyes open it was to look into the warm encouraging face of Rama.

The attendant cupped her hands before her face and Angelica could feel the gathering of wyrd. She had never thought sorcerers were as prominent as they were here in Fairview, but she was wrong.

The space before Rama’s face glowed with power, lighting her face in golden relief. Angelica had never seen a message orb wyrded before.

“Dalah, emergency, Joya has been taken, Angelica beaten, the room penetrated … somehow.” In haste Rama stood the folds of her red gown rustling as she threw her hand out toward the patio, the golden ball of light quickly tracing its way to the intended recipient.

About the Book:

With the death of one of the companions, Grace must answer for the secrets she’s kept. The path before them is ever lengthening in their quest for Amber. There are changes they all must face, and when Joya enters her trials of sorcery, danger lurks around every corner. The power within Angelica and Jovian is strengthening and with it comes confusion. What are they? It is painfully obvious nothing like them has ever existed before. Why is it at times they seem more one person than two separate people? With all the mystery surrounding their latent power, Angelica stumbles upon a passage in a book of sorcery indicating she is evil. Could she be the Mask prophecy speaks of? Is she destined to turn against her own flesh? To make matters worse, the Well of Wyrding (a giant well that controls all sorcery) has been breached and wyrd itself is spiraling into chaos.

I have been writing since I was 14. I began writing a book called "The Calling of the Two" and while writing that on and off I started uncovering another idea.

"Yes, this is all well and good, but what about before? What happened in the world before these characters came into it?" I always knew there was a "before" and as I started wondering about it I got ideas. At first they were little ideas but as I discovered the names for my characters a whole story about them emerged.

I started working on The Revenant Wyrd Saga several years back and I am very happy I did because hearing and documenting Jovian and Angelica's story has been one wild ride.

I live in a remote part of upstate New York and honestly just hoofing around my neck of the woods gives me a ton of inspiration for my novels. I love research, and I love speculating on different ideas and theories.

a Rafflecopter giveawayNote: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Water is absolutely vital to sustaining life and staying healthy. Unfortunately clean, safe water is difficult to obtain in many areas of the world. According to The Thirst Project almost one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation. 4,400 children die every year from diseases caused by contaminated water and 80% of global diseases are water-borne. The average distance to get clean water is 3.75 miles and this is usually walked by young women and girls. These girls spend so much time and energy getting water for their communities that they have no time to get an education. Communities are stuck in a cycle of poverty that they are unable to break.

What would happen in these communities if water were closer? By building wells that use the water that is available under the ground's surface, communities can have safe, clean drinking water right in their village. This reduces disease and childhood mortality dramatically. It allows opportunities to develop agriculture and time to obtain an education.

How can we help? The Thirst Project can build wells in most developing nations for between $5,000 and $12,000. Each well can provide up to 500 people with clean water indefinitely. As little as $20 can give one person clean water for twenty or more years. Those $20 donations add up to build the wells in each community.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Friday, March 22, 2013

There are so many different types of communities and they all have value. We have neighborhoods, towns, cities... Communities based on school, work, church... Online communities based on common interests... Business and health communities...

The strength of a community is often seen when there is a threat to the community members. Whether it is a natural disaster, political change, economic hardship, or tragedy of any kind people in the community tend to pull together to protect their own. In many cases this is a good thing. This pulling together can rebuild areas devastated by natural disasters or aid families in crises when jobs become scarce.

Unfortunately, in other cases, the strengthening of community creates an "us vs them" mentality. Anyone outside the community is suspect. These are the times when we fail to work together. We create a divide instead of attempting to bridge the gap to find a solution or idea that may not be perfect but that will allow each community to be represented without feeling threatened.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Friendship at 4 is innocent. It is requests to play with her best friend and greeting each other with excitement and a giant hug. Even when they fight about which toys to play with and they don't always want to share they do not stay upset for long.

Friendship at 4 is moving easily between groups of friends. It is realizing that we see some friends at preschool, some at church, and some around our neighborhood but making no distinction. These friends are not "better" than those friends.

Friendship at 4 is playing with friends even when they are not around. The dolls and play people receive the names of her friends or she talks to them on her play cell phone. Friends are not forgotten when she plays alone.

I will be saddened when she reaches the age where friendship is no longer so innocent. I watch the young teen girls in our neighborhood and see how they turn on each other so quickly over misunderstandings. They travel in packs and leave the weakest behind or, even worse, run them off. I know that eventually the loss of a friendship for whatever reason will cause her pain and that is a pain I wish that I could help her avoid.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.